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2011 WOTY Finalist - Laura Barito

Laura Barito

School: Stevens Institute of Technology

Division: III

Conference: Empire 8

Major: Mechanical Engineering

Sports: Swimming and Diving, Outdoor Track and Field, and Cross Country

A 22-time All-American in swimming and track, Barito is a national champion in swimming (50-yard freestyle) and track (400-meter hurdles) – Stevens’ first national championships.

“Someone believed in me four years ago. They believed in me as a student, at a challenging school with a rigorous curriculum. They believed in me as an athlete and gave me resources to grow from an unrecruited swimmer to a national champion. I leave with a prestigious degree in mechanical engineering and proof that the underdog can surpass expectations.”

What are they doing now?
Laura is currently in grad school at the University of Delaware, pursuing a PhD in Mechanical Engineering and Bio-Mechanics. Although she is only a first year grad student, she has already jumped into research and is doing special work on knees and knee replacements, working on discovering a better knee implant. She is in training with the swim team at the University of Delaware and intends on going to Nationals in December.

An eight-time Empire 8 record holder for numerous swimming events, Barito was named conference Athlete of the Week nine times during her career. Barito was the hurdle/sprint team captain for track, as well as nutrition representative and service leader for the track and swimming teams. Selected twice as Stevens Athlete of the Year, she was also the Empire 8 Swimmer of the Year.

Barito served on the school’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, volunteered as a server at a local homeless shelter and tutored underprivileged schoolchildren. At her church, she was a member of the worship band, a greeter and a member of the college ministry team.

Barito, a mathematics enthusiast, appeared on the President’s List from 2007 to 2011 and was named a College Swimming Coaches Association of America Scholar All-American from 2008 to 2011. CoSIDA named Barito to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America First Team, and the Empire 8 named her a Senior Scholar winner. Barito, a Stevens Honors Scholar, was also a member of the Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honor Society and Pi Tau Sigma Mechanical Engineering Honor Society.